A Case Study in Empathic Somnambulism
by fleurofthecourt
Summary: Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all end up sleeping in Spock's quarters, but it is not entirely on purpose and, honestly, kind of a problem.
1. Chapter 1

A weight pressed into Kirk's shoulder. Still mostly asleep, he instinctively rolled away from it. It was, most likely, his subconscious insisted, merely the science officer that he was sleeping with - never mind the fact that Spock was on his other side.

As the weight pressed against him a second time, he shot up, eyes open but unable to discern much in the dim light of Spock's quarters, and reached for his phaser.

"I don't think there is a need, Captain," Spock said, standing above him, pressing his arm down with one hand and gesturing towards the far side of the bed with the other. "I don't believe Dr. McCoy poses any threat to us, unless I'm very much mistaken and the good Doctor has come into my quarters to commit mutiny. I find the odds to be against it, however."

"Mutiny," McCoy muttered, his eyes, undoubtedly, raised, though it was impossible to tell in the dark. He climbed off the bed and turned so that he was facing Spock, "Damn it, Spock, you know exactly why I'm here."

"Well, I'd like to be in the know, too, Bones," Kirk said as he reached for the light switch. He grinned broadly as he turned towards McCoy, "What are you doing trying to climb in bed with Spock?"

"Like you're one to talk, Jim," McCoy retorted, waving at the bed. To Kirk's immense amusement, he was blushing.

"I did warn you, Doctor, of this eventuality," Spock said, giving McCoy a pointed look.

"And the warning was totally unnecessary," McCoy said. "I still don't know what makes either of you think I don't know what goes on between you. Hell, the whole ship probably knows."

Kirk proceeded to exchange a weighted glance with Spock as McCoy rolled his eyes.

Ignoring McCoy, a hint of mischief in his eye, Kirk asked,"So, Spock, are you saying that this isn't the first time?"

Spock, seemingly impervious to Kirk's playful tone, replied,"It seems, Captain, that the Doctor has been suffering from somnambulism for some time now."

"You've been sleepwalking?" Kirk asked, turning his gaze to McCoy, some of his amusement shifting to concern. He wondered why they hadn't told him.

McCoy nodded, looking defeated, as Spock continued,"And the trajectory of his path has consistently led him first to my quarters and second to my bed."

Well, maybe that was why.

Kirk had to hold his hand over his mouth in a completely failed attempt to stifle his laughter. He knew that he probably shouldn't find this funny, as it was, in point of fact, a medical issue. But the circumstances, were, nevertheless, comical.

Of course, now Spock and McCoy were both glaring at him - well, in Spock's case, simply staring might be more accurate - but, regardless, he put himself in check and pulled himself back to captain mode, "How long has this been going on? And why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't see the point, Jim," McCoy said.

"You mean you two agreed on something?" Kirk asked, with a smirk, realizing that, perhaps, he was still enjoying this rather too much.

"Something like that," McCoy muttered. Kirk suspected that meant that there had been a great deal of bickering before arriving at this decision.

"Dr. McCoy convinced me that, as his condition has not been affecting the ship's operation, bringing the problem to your attention was not necessary," Spock said, though the tension around his eyes suggested that he still did not entirely agree with this course of action.

Kirk thought briefly that he ought to mention that the repeated disruption of sleep for his second in command and his chief medical officer did, in fact, affect the ship's operation. However, he disrupted the sleep of his second in command often enough himself that he thought that might be a tad hypocritical.

"Besides, you've been busy entertaining the ambassador and her wife," McCoy said. "There was no reason to bother you, Jim. There was nothing that you could have done."

"Doctor, I believe you're leading the Captain to think that this has only been a recent occurrence," Spock said.

"Well, hasn't it?" McCoy asked. "It's only the second time this week I've wandered into your blasted room."

"It has been some time since the last incidence, true," Spock said. "It seems worth noting, however, that there have been two previous ones."

"When?" Kirk asked.

Spock looked at McCoy momentarily, as if asking for his permission to go on. McCoy raised his eyes slightly but did not otherwise react. Spock hesitated a moment longer then said, "The first time this happened was not long after we returned from Minara II."

Kirk rubbed at his forehead as he asked, "That's where we found the empathic woman?"

"Yeah, Gem," McCoy said fondly as Spock nodded.

"The second time was almost immediately after we left the Yonada's ship," Spock continued.

"Where Bones almost left us for the married life?" Kirk said, shaking his head.

"Yes, Captain," Spock said.

"Hey, I was dying, and they were going to kill you two," McCoy said. "I wasn't going to die with that on my conscience."

"You're saying you wouldn't have married her otherwise?" Kirk asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. That's beside the point now, isn't it?" McCoy said.

"Alright, Bones, the past is in the past," Kirk said, clapping his hand over McCoy's shoulder. "Now, Spock, the last planet we were on before the ambassador came on board was Sarpeidon, correct?"

"I believe so, Captain," Spock said.

"Spock, you know as well as I do we haven't been anywhere else," McCoy said. "Or are you still trying to forget falling back on your primal Vulcan ways? Too embarrassing for you?"

"I am not able to be embarrassed, Doctor, and if I were, it would not be about that so much as making the mistake of going through the time portal with you," Spock said. "After all, Doctor, do I need to remind you that if it were not for your choice to look through materials on the planet's ice age, we would not have ever been there?"

At that, McCoy simply rolled his eyes.

Kirk glanced uneasily between the two of them. Although neither of them had divulged the full story of what had happened to them in the Sarpeidon ice age, he had gathered enough to know that McCoy had been suffering from a near deadly case of hypothermia for most of the time they were there. Consequently, although he wasn't entirely sure of the how of the situation, he now strongly suspected the why . Getting the two of them to realize it - or, more likely, admit that they already had - however, was going to take some work.

"Surely, gentlemen, you see the pattern here?" Kirk said, glancing between them. "The common link between these sleepwalking spells?"

Although neither of them responded to the question, Kirk saw in their mutually averted gazes an unspoken affirmative.

"Spock?" Kirk said.

Spock hesitated again, but under Kirk's emphatic stare, he said, "Each of these incidents have occurred after Dr. McCoy has fallen seriously ill."

"Bones, is suffering the aftermath of a serious illness a cause of sleepwalking?" Kirk asked.

"No, but sleeping poorly is," McCoy said, rubbing at his temple. "Damn it, Jim, I can't be my own psychologist."

"So this is a psychological problem?" Kirk asked.

"I don't think I even need to be a doctor to tell you that much," McCoy said.

"As the Doctor has not suffered from somnambulism at any other point, that would be the most logical conclusion," Spock said. He lifted his tricorder away from Dr. McCoy, who had reluctantly been allowing him to read his vital signs. "This time is no different from the others. His vital signs read normally... for a human."

Kirk nodded at that. He had really suspected as much already, given the situation.

"And I suppose Vulcans don't sleepwalk?" McCoy muttered.

"They don't, Doctor," Spock said. "Has your research on my species not been revealing on that subject?"

"Well, Spock, if I hadn't made the mistake of joining you, I would have assumed you slept hanging from the ceiling," McCoy said.

"From the ceiling, Doctor? I see no reason to assume that. Vulcans and bats do not share a common ancestry," Spock said.

Kirk thought Spock should just be glad McCoy hadn't compared him to the devil again. Vampires seemed, to him, to be an improvement. In any case, they weren't getting anywhere.

"Spock, is it possible for you to learn what is going on in Bone's mind when he is sleepwalking?" Kirk asked.

"I have already asked Dr. McCoy if I could meld with his mind, but there are two obstacles to this course of action," Spock said.

"Explain," Kirk said.

"The first is that Dr. McCoy has requested that I "keep my hand and its Vulcan voodoo away from him" and the second that he would need to be sleepwalking when I did it. We've always discovered that he was doing so after he has already fallen asleep at my side, with no memory of arriving there," Spock said.

"Bones, surely you can let Spock mind-meld with for your own well-being?" Kirk asked.

"Now that you're both asking, I don't suppose I have choice," McCoy said, throwing his hands up in the air, "but don't ask me to be happy about it."


	2. Chapter 2

_Captain's Personal Log Stardate: 5978.48:_

_Commander Spock and myself have been monitoring Dr. McCoy's sleeping patterns in order to determine the underlying cause of his sleepwalking. We have been, so far, unsuccessful. Dr. McCoy has, therefore, requested that we return to our normal sleep schedules._

Although Kirk had initially complied with McCoy's request, the unusual sleeping pattern that he had been keeping recently had led to a restlessness that had him wandering the ship's corridors at a strangely late hour, in search of something to do. Having found everything to be completely under control on the bridge, he had begun to head towards the med bay in order to check on a crewman who had been injured doing some routine wire maintenance.

However, as he headed there, he caught sight of McCoy, heading in the opposite direction, looking straight ahead. He seemed to be completely oblivious to Kirk's presence.

"Bones," Kirk shouted in an attempt to get his attention. After two further attempts of calling out warranted no reply, Kirk decided it was safe to assume that since he and Spock weren't monitoring him anymore, Murphy's law had taken hold, and McCoy had begun sleepwalking again.

He approached McCoy slowly, carefully curled his hands over his shoulders, and attempted to steer him back towards the med bay.

However, McCoy, despite being sound asleep, seemed to be stubbornly resolute in his, apparently, routine course. He shoulders twisted roughly against Kirk's hold as he drowsily mumbled an anxious sounding, "Spock."

Although Kirk doubted this was meant to be a suggestion for him, he still took it as one. He found the nearest intercom point and called Spock's quarters.

As Spock had been sound asleep when he had left, Kirk was unsurprised by the lengthy delay in reply. Once the call was answered, Kirk said, "Sorry if I woke you, but I think we've found our opportunity to determine what's going on with Bones. I would say I was bringing him to you, but he's really doing that on his own."

"Acknowledged, Captain. I will wait for you," Spock said.

Once in Spock's room, Spock and Kirk found getting McCoy to sit up on the bed rather than lie on it to be a challenge. He kept trying to curl up against Spock, despite Spock's repeated attempts to prop him up against the pillow so he could sit cross-legged across from him.

"Is it necessary that you're both in that position to do the meld?" Kirk asked. He thought he'd seen Spock do it enough times to know that it wasn't, but Spock seemed particularly resistant to allowing McCoy to essentially lie in his lap.

"It is not necessary, but it is preferable," Spock said.

"Well, Bones seems determined to fight you even in his sleep. Do you really want to fight back?" Kirk asked.

"I doubt, Captain, that the Doctor is aware of what he is doing, and if he were, I'm not certain he would be any more pleased about it than I," Spock said.

"Only one way to find out, Spock," Kirk said as he loosened his own grip on McCoy's shoulder.

In lieu of reply, Spock let McCoy's head slide down against his knee before cupping it with both his hands.

Kirk, realizing, belatedly, that he was about to intrude on something intimate, started to pull himself off the bed, "I can leave you two alone for this."

"I'd prefer you stayed, Jim," Spock said. Kirk smiled faintly at Spock calling him by name, knowing, that, unfortunately, that meant he was worried. At least, he supposed, it wasn't because of any imminent danger to any of them.

He repositioned himself on the edge of the bed and watched as Spock pressed his fingers into the meld points on McCoy's face.

Spock took on a look of deep concentration. His eyes narrowed and focused on the center of McCoy's forehead before sliding closed.

After a minute, he opened them again and turned towards Kirk, "It appears that when sleepwalking, the Doctor has been following a distress signal of some kind, but I'm having some trouble tracing its origin. It's been fading steadily since... he came into my quarters. It is almost as if it is linked to them in some way..."

Spock's eyes widened as he abruptly pulled his hands away from McCoy. Kirk knew that whatever Spock had just realized warranted afascinating , but he didn't say it. Instead, he clasped his hands together and looked down at them.

"Spock?" Kirk asked. "Something wrong?"  
"No, Captain," Spock said, though his tone suggested otherwise.

"Did you locate the source of the signal?" Kirk asked.

"Affirmative, Captain," Spock said, continuing to stare at his hands. Even though Kirk was now looking at him expectantly, he did not yield any further information.

"The source, Spock?" Kirk said.

After a long pause, Spock locked eyes with his, "It appears, Jim, that I am the source."

Kirk furrowed his brow as he watched Spock tentatively. He found that it made as much sense as it didn't. "Explain."

Spock's attention returned to his hands.

"Spock, you said that it was a distress signal. Should I infer from that that you are in some kind of distress?" Kirk asked.

"Negative, Captain," Spock said.

"Spock, if there's something wrong with you, you know I need to know," Kirk said, giving Spock as meaningful a look as he could muster. He didn't think Spock was lying, but he also knew that Spock wasn't telling him everything.

Spock considered his hands a moment longer before saying, "I no longer believe, Jim, that distress was an accurate way in which to qualify the signal."

"Then what would be?" Kirk asked.

"Concern," Spock said.

"Concern for?" Kirk asked. He thought he had the answer plain enough, but he still wanted to hear Spock say it.

Spock didn't say anything. However, his gaze fell back to McCoy's forehead, betraying him even more than, perhaps, his words could.

"The ship's need to have a Doctor that is alive and well," Spock said.

"I see," Kirk said, and he did. He saw both that Spock's subconscious was demonstrating how strongly he felt and that Spock needed to cover up the perceived illogicality of such feelings.

They both tensed reflexively as McCoy blinked and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He turned his head, which was still roughly in Spock's lap, up to Spock. "You do realize, Spock, that I'm not the only member of this ship's medical staff?"

"Nor are you its most competent member," Spock replied, "but having a ship's surgeon is better than not, regardless of how well he is trained."

McCoy looked like he was about to argue, but Kirk interjected before he had the chance. "How long have you been listening, Bones?"

"Long enough," McCoy said as he sat up. "I should have known it was this green-blooded hobgoblin making me roam the ship."

"You have not been "roaming" the ship, Doctor. You've been following a fixed route to my quarters," Spock said. "Furthermore, it was not necessary for you to respond to the signal."

"Because, while asleep, I was certainly capable of making that conscious decision," McCoy muttered.

"I'm not sure I'm following, Spock," Kirk said. He was almost positive he was following, but there was nothing quite like getting Spock to own up to having emotions. "How are you able to transmit a signal to Bones when you are both asleep?"

"I believe, Captain, that it is a subconscious telepathic and empathic link that could not be created unless we were both asleep," Spock said. "Nor would it be possible if I were not a Vulcan or if the Doctor were not possessed of his highly emotional demeanor."

"You mean to say that I'm acting on some kind of empathic impulse?" McCoy asked. "In my sleep?"

"Affirmative, Doctor," Spock said.

The long and short of it was, Kirk surmised, that Spock and McCoy's feelings for one another were being addressed when neither of them were consciously aware of it.

"Bones, I think what Spock's getting at is that he's been worried about you," Kirk said.

At this, clearly indignant, Spock climbed off the bed. He walked a few feet away before placing his hands on his hips, looking as lost as he often did when things stepped outside of his control and rational understanding under his command.

"About to tell me you aren't able to be worried?" McCoy asked.

"As much as I would like to do so, Doctor, I find that it would be hard to deny that my human side has, as you would put it, peaked thru," Spock said.

"And here I thought only Jim was blessed with such an unusual privilege," McCoy said, climbing off the bed to trail after Spock.

Once he was beside him, McCoy hesitated briefly before coiling his hand around Spock's wrist, "And, Spock, really, I'm alright. After all, I'm still here, aren't I?"

"That, McCoy, I can also not deny," Spock said, momentarily placing his other hand over McCoy's. Then he followed McCoy back to the bed.

"Well, Spock, the next time you're worried about me, can't you just say so?" McCoy asked. "Save me a hell of a lot of trouble."

"How so, Doctor?" Spock asked.

"Instead of waiting around for your telepathic phone call, I'll start out right here," McCoy said, patting the bed.

"That would be logical, Doctor," Spock said. "Captain?"

"As long as you two keep me apprised of the sleeping arrangement," Kirk said. "This bed isn't really big enough for three. One of the few shortcomings of the ship's design."


End file.
